Could the arrival of the e-tron be one reason why sales of the Jaguar I-Pace and Tesla Model X have gone into decline over recent months? Audi’s all-electric SUV is off to a good start in the US, China and Europe.
This year is shaping up to be an important one for large electric SUVs such as the e-tron. Audi will begin producing the e-tron Sportback, which like the original, is 4.9m long but has a different body. Meanwhile, Tesla says it will begin deliveries of the 4,775mm Model Y from the fourth quarter.
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The many sizes of E-SUV
The BMW iX3 will also go on sale later in 2020. Technically, this model could belong to the segment below as it will likely be the same size as the 4.7m long X3. Splitting the difference is the Mercedes EQC (4,761mm), with the Jaguar I-Pace and Polestar 2 relatively tiddly at 4,680mm and 4,602mm from end to end, respectively.
Is size all that relevant when it comes to biggish crossover EVs? Yes and no. Not even its 1,999mm width and 5,037m length prevented Tesla’s Model X from becoming a relative success in countries where incentives have helped to encourage sales of such vehicles. Now, a combination of the car’s age and a lot more choice for buyers the world over seem to be why deliveries of the largest Tesla crossover have been falling quarter-on-quarter.
EV sales in Germany: small but rising
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By GlobalDataAudi is doing well with its goal of scooping up many of those who like the idea of the big Tesla yet prefer a German brand EV. In the marque’s homeland, the e-tron (192) outsold not only the Model X (49) but also the Model 3 (188), Jaguar I-Pace (106) and Nissan’s Leaf (190) in November. Those totals being small it’s better to look at year to date sales. At the time of writing, full year registrations by model had yet to be released.
The Model 3 put in a strong performance, with 8,087 deliveries in the German market, while Audi dealers handed over 3,396 e-trons. Model X deliveries numbered 627, while buyers took delivery of 895 I-Paces. The KBA’s data contains no total for the Mercedes EQC.
Why the Dutch are made for the Model 3
Europe’s largest market isn’t yet the biggest one for EVs but the Netherlands remains an instructive place to look at EV sales. Tesla does phenomenally well there, the Model 3 being the country’s best selling vehicle of 2019 with just shy of 30,000 cars delivered. A lot of that is thanks to incentives for electric vehicles, plus there was a surge in sales last month as buyers scrambled to get their cars ahead of a 1 January tax hike.
These observations illustrate how odd a time we are living in for EVs. As incentives change and recharging infrastructure becomes better or perhaps better publicised, electric vehicle sales tend to rise, at least in European countries.
Britain – e-tron sales hit four figures
The UK’s place in the regional sales pecking order is up there with some of the markets where electric cars are most in demand. Still, Audi’s electric crossover is taking its time to find favour with British buyers. Data provided by the importer show that the four-digit mark was at last passed in November, e-tron deliveries reaching 1,006 units at the end of last month. The first examples were registered here in April.
One of the reasons for the slower than hoped for rate of conquest might be pricing. More than seventy thousand pounds or rather the equivalent monthly payment is not an insubstantial amount of money. Or could it also be the not always quick or seamless recharging experience? Not to mention the fact that many people live in apartments or may not have a garage or even a driveway that a vehicle of this size fits easily in or on.
The usually hassle-free Supercharger network allied to the relatively compact dimensions of the Model 3 could therefore be key to understanding why so many people buy this Tesla compared to any other EV. Might that begin to change as more brands bring out ever better electric cars and SUVs?
Winter, the enemy of EVs
I lived with an e-tron for six days and found it to be a mostly fine experience. The best things are the silence, how well it handles and the acceleration. It also makes a cool noise at low speeds and you really do need that as a warning to pedestrians.
The questions everyone asks “how many miles will it do and how long does it take to charge?”. In the best case, a 150kW DC charger – if you can find one – will get the car back to full charge from near-empty in around 45 minutes or to 80 per cent in half an hour.
If you don’t install a home charger or have one at work, it will take around thirty hours to give an e-tron its maximum 271 miles/436km (WLTP) of juice via an ordinary socket. That’s the worst case scenario, which can also mean being out in the rain and cold extracting then storing a long, bulky and wet cable plus associated gubbins. Bring on wireless charging, or just as good, the robo-rechargers that Volkswagen is working on.
Towards 300+ miles of range
The numbers above are for the e-tron 55 quattro and its 95kWh battery pack. A less expensive variant with a smaller (71kWh) pack is called 50 quattro and this has a WLTP range of 300km/186 miles. By the time this model’s mid-cycle facelift comes around in 2022, there will probably be even more range with perhaps more than 500km becoming commonplace for many large EVs. Remember that the BMW i3 started off with just 190km and now, following advances in cell chemistry and more competition amongst battery suppliers, that model offers more than 300km.
Fast-ish chargers keep popping up seemingly everywhere, so most owners will quickly learn to adjust their driving style and rely on various apps to plan journeys. Even so, the seventy thousand pound plus Audi e-tron ownership experience can mean a fair amount of waiting around. And sometimes, it also means the driver thinks twice about using the A/C to heat (or chill) the interior. It was fascinating for me to see what flicking on seat heaters did to the range too. Maybe that’s why the test car had no such artificial warmth for the steering wheel?
Pace and space
One of the best things about the e-tron is the roominess and that includes luggage space. The boot has a capacity of 600 litres which is a whopping 160 more than the Mercedes EQC400. If you leave the cables at home, there’s a further 60 litres of space under the bonnet. All five occupants also have excellent shoulder, leg and head room but if it’s a seven-seater you need, then the e-tron isn’t your car.
Other than visits to filling stations being replaced by parking at chargers, living with the e-tron is decidedly ‘normal’. Aside from the missing fuelling flap and its special grille, this looks and feels like a typical Audi SUV. Only the silence reminds you that you’re rolling on ions not hydrocarbons. That’s probably the best way to sum-up with vehicle. Slotted in between the Q5 and Q7, the e-tron is a fairly painless – albeit pricey – way of joining the EV club while retaining most of the things which make Audis so appealing to the brand’s loyal buyers.
The Audi e-tron 55 quattro costs from GBP71,560 but the UK’s Plug-In Car Grant, is worth up to GBP3,500, there is zero road tax during the first year of ownership and drivers of electric vehicles do not incur a BIK (Benefit In Kind) charge for electricity used at work. Top speed is limited to 200km/h (124mph) and 0-62mph takes 5.7 seconds.
